Delay on Oregon's Measure 98 is unacceptable (Opinion)

Updated March 6, 2017 at 12:14 PM;Posted March 6, 2017 at 7:00 AM

Virgil Wells of Boring sells trees and turns them into bowls, back scratchers on other items

Laraiyah Ashley measures wood during a tech geometry class at Benson High School. Supporters of Measure 98 had hoped the program, which voters passed in November, could help provide more students across the state with such career tech classes along with other drop-out prevention programs.
(Beth Nakamura/Staff)

Lawmakers are currently debating whether to delay, rollback or slim down Measure 98, the initiative that voters passed by a 2-to-1 margin to increase Oregon's graduation rate. In a big hearing a few weeks ago, lawmakers heard from lobbyists, but they really didn't hear much from people like me, a college student whose life was impacted by the type of initiatives Measure 98 would support.

Nicole Yip

Perhaps lawmakers should try checking in those most affected before deciding what to do about Measure 98.

I'm currently attending Pacific University on a full scholarship and pursuing a bachelor's degree in international studies. With my degree, I hope to help students from marginalized communities around the world pursue an education. But if you knew me in middle school, you may not have expected that I'd ever make it to college.

I was raised by a single mother of three children. My mother had escaped from the Khmer Rouge when she was about 6 years old. My family and I experienced poverty throughout my entire adolescence. To support me and my siblings, my mother worked 16 to 18 hours a day. Throughout the majority of my childhood, I lacked the essential guidance, supervision and, most important, the support that I desperately needed.

I had always struggled to succeed academically. By the time I began high school, I believed that education was not important and that I was never meant to pursue it further. But when I learned that I was on the verge of not graduating, it was a wake-up call. My high school guidance counselor suggested that I attend an information meeting for a program called Gateway to College.

Through Gateway to College I had access to college-level courses, and instructors and counselors who helped me see a path for myself and provided the support I needed to persist. I would not be in college now and I probably would not have graduated from high school if I hadn't had that gotten that extra attention and support. If implemented, Measure 98 would provide access to career technical education, college-level courses and dropout prevention for high school students across the state.

The numbers speak for themselves. Oregon has the third worst graduation rate in the country.

What does this mean? It means that one in four Oregon students who start high school don't graduate on time or at all. And even the students who do graduate aren't doing all that well either. Many who enter community college are struggling. Most have to take remedial classes, which makes it harder to get a degree.

And think about the students who don't graduate from high school. Those are the kids who struggle to get jobs, too often end up in jail or without a place to live, and are more likely to be dependent on the rest of us to meet their basic needs. I know some of these kids. They were my classmates. I could have been one of them.

Share your opinion

Submit your essay of 500 words or less to commentary@oregonlive.com. Please include your email and phone number for verification.

Students like me aren't represented by most lobbyists in Salem. We often don't have money for political donations. Many families living in poverty don't even have cars, so going to Salem to talk to lawmakers isn't really an option.

But we matter, and I hope lawmakers do their homework and listen to us. Here's our plea: Please change how you are thinking about Measure 98. Instead of debating whether to invest in our future, figure out how to make it happen.